Doron Salomon’s mother was only in her fifties when she started showing symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer’s Syndrome. She had been a highly organized woman who spent years working as a bookkeeper, but when she realized that her illness was getting in the way of her performance at work, she quit and took a job as a “picker” at Sainsbury’s, which is the second largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom.

The woman spent the next ten years working as a picker at the Sainsbury’s in the Kenton neighborhood of London. She grew to love her job, which involved pulling items from the shelves for customer orders placed online. She was able to do this job without any help for years until she reached her sixties, when she was no longer able to perform her duties without assistance from her fellow employees.

Doron and his father kept in close contact with his mother’s manager to keep the store up to date about her medical situation, and they dreaded the day when they would need to tell her she could no longer work there.

“Alzheimer’s, for those that aren’t aware, is more than just memory loss,” Doron wrote on Twitter. “To name a few things it impacts: social skills, mood, increases disorientation, exaggerates emotions, can make you aggressive, increases tiredness, loss of language, inability to make decisions etc etc.”

Doron went on to say that instead of firing his mother, Sainsbury’s showed a touching amount of compassion for her over the years. Each time the woman forgot how to do her job, Sainsbury’s kept her on their staff, accommodating her by changing her hours and training other employees to help her. Management would also meet with her family regularly to see what else they could do.

“Sainsbury’s have seen my mum deteriorate to the point that every day for the last year or so she has gone into the store confused, as if she’d never been there before,” Doron said. “They have always stood by her, going above and beyond to make sure she’s happy and feeling valued.”

When the day came that she could no longer be a picker, the store created a new role for Doron’s mom.

“The sense of self-worth and pride has undeniably helped with aspects of her Alzheimer’s, such as giving her something to talk about in social situations,” he said.

Sadly, the day finally came when Doron’s mother could not even perform the simplest of tasks, and Sainsbury’s had no choice but to let her go. The store worked with her family to make the transition as smooth as possible for her.

“Nearly 6 months later, yesterday was her last day,” Doron said. “Even when they probably should have let her go they didn’t until now. My mum was emotional but relieved. Senior management have acted with compassion and handled everything with class and dignity.”

Doron said that though she does not post on social media much, he wanted to thank Sainsbury’s for what the store did for his family.

“This thread doesn’t really do Sainsbury’s justice but I wanted to publicly thank them on behalf of my family,” he wrote. “They have been a fabulous employer but more than that, on a human level, the people working at the Kenton store have shown sensitivity, kindness and care. Thank you.”

God bless Sainsbury’s for going above and beyond to help this devoted employee!